Lies, Divorce, and Bracken
by iwantobemorethanwhoiam
Summary: "If you do this, we're done."


**A/N: Prompt from anon on tumblr: Beckett lies about something which causes a huge misunderstanding.**

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"Castle what do you expect me to do here?! He tried to kill you! He tried to kill me! For God's sake," she motioned upstairs to where their 4 year old daughter and 2 year old son were sleeping, "he tried to kill Kenzie and Lucas!"

"I expect you to choose your family over him!"

"If I don't do this, he will kill me and won't hesitate to kill anyone who gets in his way."

"You do remember what happened last time you did this, right?"

"I almost fell off a roof."

"So what happens this time when you're with whoever the hell it is he sends, in some abandoned building, nagotiating with him and he doesn't like what you say? Do you really want to leave our kids without a mother?!"

"I'm not gonna die." She grabbed her balzer off one of the chairs at the breakfast bar and shrugged it on then headed for the door. She had her hand on the doorknob when Castle spoke.

"If you do this, we're done."

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath then opened the door and walked out. She couldn't believe she was actually listening to the monster that was William Bracken, he said in order for her family to live, she had to divorce Castle. She would rather be divorced from him, put her kids through that than have them dead and she knew, without a doubt if he really knew what was going on, he would feel the exact same way. But she couldn't leave him, she could never do that to him. So she had to make him think she was back down the rabbit hole. She knew that was the only way he would ever consider a divorce.

**6 months later**

"Kenzie, where are your brother's shoes?"

She was sitting on the couch playing with Kate's phone. Lucas was still taking his nap. "I don't know." Kate grabbed her phone from her and put it in her back pocket. "Hey!"

"Can you help me look for them? We have to get ready to go to daddy's."

"I don't want to go to daddy's!"

She was continuing to look around the living room/entry way. "Well you have to. Remember what we talked about?"

"Can't it just be a Lucas and Daddy weekend and a Kenzie and Mommy weekend?"

"It doesn't work like that sweetie." She went back over to her daughter where she had her head burried in her hands that were in her lap and sat next to her. Kate rubbed her back. "Why don't you want to go to daddy's?"

She threw herself on her mom. "Cause I wanna stay with you."

Kate put her hands under Kenzie's armpits and pulled her up so Kenzie's head was burried in her neck and her legs were wrapped around her waist. "Daddy misses you and Lucas will miss you if you don't go."

Kenzie lifted her head but kept her arms around Kate's neck. "I'll miss you."

Seeing the heartbreak in her daughter's eyes was enough to think is this really all worth it? Putting her kids through hell to, to what? Prove to the dragon that he was and always will be in control? "I'm gonna miss you too but you haven't seen daddy in two weeks."

"Cause of his book?"

The last Nikki Heat. He had been out of town for the last two weeks on his book tour and now her daughter reminded her of how painful it had to be for him given what they're going through. She nodded. "But that's why you get to spend the next four days with him." She smiled. "I bet you'll see Alexis and Brent and Grams." Before Kenzie could respond, Lucas came running out of his room down the hall with the biggest smile on his face.

"Daddy's?!"

She had told him once he woke up, they would go to Castle's, at least one of their kids was exctied.

**At Castle's**

After their initial pleasantries, the kids ran, more Lucas ran and Kenzie slumped, into the loft to Alexis who was in the kitchen. "Castle, can we talk?" He obviosuly didn't want to but he told Alexis he'd be right back and they went into the hall. "Kenzie was really upset before coming over here."

"Why?"

"I don't know. She just kept saying she wanted to stay with me and…" She looked up at him and saw the hurt and pain in his eyes. She couldn't tell if it was from the fact their daughter was upset or that this is their life now, living without each other, well without being husband and wife, but she didn't care. "Oh Castle, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Beckett don't." He held up a hand and started to turn away to go back inside.

"I didn't tell you everything about the Bracken situation." He turned back, his brow furrowed, and waited for her to continue. This was it. "He was waiting outside when I came home that night. He was dressed as homeless man, I didn't even recognize him until I heard his voice. He told me if I wanted my family to live, I would divorce you."

"What?"

"He threatened to…hurt you and the kids in a way…" she couldn't even finish her sentence, tears formed in her eyes, "I couldn't let that happen."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Seeing our daughter hurt like that today, I can't even imagine how hard this book tour was for you, he wants to control our life and I can't let him do that."

"What about the meet? At that abandoned building?"

"There was no meet. I had to make you think I screwed up, that it was my fault, because I couldn't just leave you out of the blue and have you think it's your fault. I could never do that to you."

After contemplating her story, gaging if this was what really happened, he saw the pain, the heartbreak, in her eyes, he took the short step to her, his hands going to the sides of her face to pull her into a deep kiss. Her hands settled on his waist. Their foreheads rested against each other's. "Tell Gates."

She moved from his arms. "I can't do that."

"Why?"

"She'll open an investigation on Montgomery."

"He's dead. He wouldn't want you, us living in fear like this."

"Evelyn and the kids will lose everything."

"Then let's go to her, tell her what really happened, why he died. Then we'll go to Gates. This will tie Bracken to his murder and your mom's and he will not get away with it."

After thinking about it, she knew Evelyn would still be proud of her late husband, he turned around after kidnapping the mobsters and made up for it in many, many ways. This was the only way to get her family back. "Okay." He pulled her into another kiss.

"Well, isn't this lovely," they jerked apart and turned toward the elevator where Martha was walking toward them, "you two back together. I knew this divorce nonsense wouldn't last."


End file.
